Although Apple is rather well-publicized as a difficult place to work, it strikes me that this welcome message was likely written by someone fairly low within the hierarchy of the company.

Romantically, I’d like to think that sitting there — apart from the inner-workings, design work, and granular infrastructure of Apple’s products — someone took the time to write something thoughtful about the working world. To project meaning, passion, and importance upon even the most minor piece of company communication. The letter is not lifeless, instead, it boasts the very “fingerprints” it seeks to describe. The letter — in its simplistic diction and plain background — embodies all that it hopes to instill within the reader.

Therein lies the significance of Apple and, indeed, the key to success for many companies across the world. The key does not reside solely in margins and products, but within the most incidental and personal portions of the company’s facade — within the projection of a founder’s passion to the scores of people that steadily begin to grow beneath. In this letter, the worker is not a cog assuming the role any other person might hold, rather, the worker is a person pursuing an intimately personal life goal.

Subtract “Apple” from this document, and replace it with whatever you intend to work on today. And hold yourself to it.